Last year I spent a long 4 day weekend out at Woodsmoke relaxing- it was so great. I was only a couple weeks into nail school at the time, and since I was missing a day to stay an extra day on my mini vacation I brought all my nail stuff to do as many nails as I could still. Plus I wanted to do some fancy 4th of July themed nails on myself.

On the thumb and pinky I used loose dry glitter to create a somewhat ombre glitter look. The stripes on the flag were done by starting with a layer of white gel polish, then removing the tacky layer and using stickers to achieve the perfect lines. When using stickers, you have to use regular polish with them otherwise the gel polish will just bleed all over when you remove the stickers. So do as thin of a coat of regular polish as you can over the stickers, remove and let dry 100%, then cover with a gel polish top coat for max shine and instantly dry nails.

Little girls love lots of glitter

I also did one of the neigbor’s little girls nails all ready for the 4th. She was inspired by my nails, and of course wanted as much glitter as I could get on her tiny nails. I only used regular polish- remember no chips aren’t good for young girls nails!

For the holiday, let’s take a look at some festive nails I did last year!

My mom loves having sheer sparkly nails, so I did two coats of ASP “Shimmer Top Coat” as a base. I then removed the tacky layer and added some shamrock stickers, and a couple kitties she really liked. These stickers are nice and thin so you couldn’t even really tell they were there under the topcoat.

I went a little bit more bold with my nails:

Used the same stickers over LeChat Mood Changing “Limelight”. I am obsessed with these gel polishes because they change color depending on how hot or cold your fingers are. This color turns a dark green, and I love the subtle gold shimmer.

Since I’ve learned pedicures in school, I might as well practice them even if they’re not my reeeally favorite thing to do…

At least once you’re done the feet look much better. This polish is Orly “Wonder Woman” from their Wonder Woman collection that was at Walgreens briefly. It is a clear base with a ton of red micro glitters with some blue hexes and yellow stars perfectly representing her costume. I did two coats of China Glaze “Poinsettia” topped with one coat of “Wonder Woman”.

Above is two coats of China Glaze “Poinsettia” by itself. It’s a lovely glassy red that applied super smoothly. I use this when I need a plain red all the time.

Above are the pedicures I’ve done at school, the top two on female clients and the bottoms ones on my classmate Rick!

If you follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Nailpolis you’ll remember these nails from a few months ago. They’re done using LeChat Mood Changing gel polish, which I’ve posted about before. I love using these mood changing polishes, I swear they’re endlessly amusing.

This mani is done on my friend Katie, who already had beautiful, clean cuticles I barely had to do anything to. Only two coats of this polish gives great coverage, and it applies thinly without running.

A simple summer no chip done with ASP “Rendezvous in Red”. This gel polish is super smooth to apply and doesn’t run easily despite feeling thin. It’s great because it doesn’t make the nails look thick, but even though it feels thin it is very pigmented and only requires two coats.

Here we’ve got Finger Paints gel polish in “Main Art-Traction”. It’s a nice neon fuschia/purple that’s very creamy and completely opaque in two coats. My client wanted an accent nail of ASP “Studio 54” and some bling, and told me to do whatever I want which I always love hearing!